On May 10, on behalf of more than 100 public interest organizations, OMB Watch presented a set of detailed environmental right-to-know recommendations to the Obama administration. Collaboratively drafted and endorsed by advocates from across the country, the recommendations aim to expand access to environmental information, equip citizens with data about their environmental health, and empower Americans to protect themselves, their families, and their communities from toxic pollution.
From the outside, a great deal seems to be happening with the fiscal year (FY) 2012 budget process. The House debated a "clean" bill to raise the debt ceiling and is starting to vote on its yearly appropriations bills, and the Senate just voted on four budget proposals. But looks can be deceiving: despite these recent actions, the nation's budget process is teetering on the edge of irrelevance.
On May 25, Texas and Michigan moved to join several other states in requiring the natural gas drilling industry to disclose the contents of fluids used in hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking. On the same day, two of the biggest U.S. energy companies – ExxonMobil and Chevron – defeated proposals from their shareholders calling for more disclosure of the environmental impacts and risks of drilling for natural gas. Despite such industry resistance, fracking disclosure continues to gain traction as an issue, especially at the state level.
While observers 
Federal information technology (IT) spending is approaching $80 billion per year, and debate is swirling about who will pay for new government technology projects and how they will do so. The Government Accountability Office (GAO)